Tottenham Hotspur vs Bayern Munich
Pre-season is well underway now and Europe’s biggest sides continue to pitch themselves against each other around the world.
There’s been plenty of action in the USA, where Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona and AC Milan have been going through their paces, and now fans in South Korea are due a treat when Club Friendly: FC Bayern vs Tottenham Hotspur is the star attraction on 3rd August. When I saw this fixture I thought to myself, ‘it’s the Harry Kane Derby’ but no; the England skipper is in recuperation and won’t be on show.
No matter; there are plenty of other big name stars heading to the Far East and lots to play for as Bayern and Spurs fine tune in preparation for the fast approaching league campaigns.
Talking Points
Bavarians looking for a lift
Bayern are hoping to bounce back from last season’s failure and the Bundesliga 2024 betting odds here at SBOTOP reckon they should; but new head coach Vincent Kompany needs to find the right recipe quickly because success can’t come quickly enough for everyone at the club. And with Bayer Leverkusen so impressive last season, as well as Borussia Dortmund strengthening in the close season it certainly won’t be a walk in the park. So the Bavarians must find some form before the hostilities begin and a 1-1 draw with FC Duren last week hardly impressed the Bayern fans. They struggled to break down the fourth tier club, coming back from a half time deficit and Kompany will be looking for more when his team meets more illustrious opposition.
Kane is currently in recovery mode having picked up a back injury in the run up to Euro 2024 and Bayern will also be missing Alphonso Davies, Dayot Upamecano and Kingsley Coman. But this is a good opportunity for new boys Joao Palhinha and Michael Olise, signed from Fulham and Crystal Palace, to take on London rivals they know pretty well. The South Korean fans will be keen to see centre back Kim Min-jae, the most expensive Asian player of all time when he moved from Napoli to Bayern Munich for 50m Euros last summer. And there is some Spurs interest in this team with Eric Dier available to face his old team-mates after he joined Kane in a £3m move this summer.
With the 2024/25 Bundesliga season fast approaching Bayern need to see some progress; and a clash with Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs will be a good benchmark.
Spurs new boys fit and ready to go
Tottenham have included new signings Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall in their squad for South Korea and both have shaped up pretty well in pre-season so far. Wingback Gray, signed in a £40m switch from Leeds United and he impressed during Spurs 5-1 win over Scottish club Hearts while the 18 year old midfielder Bergvall, signed from Djurgarden in the Swedish league, has looked a real livewire. There was a slight concern when he was substituted in the first half of Saturday’s 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers but Bergvall has avoided a serious injury and he is ready to go again.
That is great news for Spurs fans who have been wowed by their two new young guns and for Postecoglou, who wants a good range of options available to him when the season starts in just over two weeks time. His big players, Heung Min-Son and James Maddison are in good nick while Radu Dragusin, who had an impressive Euro 2024 with Romania is also ready to join the squad in South Korea.
Tottenham started last season like a house on fire and were clear at the top of the table after the first ten games but, after an injury to Maddison they fell away in the second half of the campaign, but finished strongly in fifth. A top four place is the target and Postecoglou will need a strong set of Premier League 2024 results in the opening weeks to give himself a chance of leading Spurs into the Champions League.
His opposite number Kompany needs to win the German league, and it will be interesting to see which team looks happier come Thursday.
History
Over the past three meetings between these two teams Tottenham are yet to win, and they still have painful memories of a 2019 Champions League encounter when they were demolished by the Germans, as former Arsenal man Serge Gnabry helped himself to four goals in a 7-2 mauling. This may be a friendly, but the Londoners owe the Bavarians and Gnabry for that one.
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